The Hunted
by Ms Arano
Summary: Funny thing, the past, how it always plays a part on the future...Genkai. Hiei and Yukina centric. [DISCONTINUED]
1. Prologue: A begining

Prologue

It was supposed to be an easy steal. It was supposed to be unguarded. It was supposed to be there.

_It was supposed to be a lot of things_, thought the small youkai.

He was running, had been for the last three hours, and he was starting to get tired. He looked ahead to the leader, brushing sandy blonde hair that was dampened with sweat out of his eyes. The leader was still running strong, with no signs of tiring, and looked to be able to go on long after his gang of thieves dropped dead from exhaustion. Or at least, he did

Suddenly, what appeared to be a shadow flew out of the trees they were running along, cutting down the leader. The youkai stopped, aghast. The shadow didn't stop. Faster than the eye could see, the shadow-thing cut down all the youkai's comrades, experienced fighters, easily. Until, that is, only he was left standing.

The shadow stopped in front of him. Garnet eyes sneered at him. The shadow turned out to be a very short man, all in black—except for a stark white scarf—with flame shaped black hair, a white starburst right in the middle of his bangs.

"Fool." The man spat, before he, too, was cut down like his comrades before him.

The man watched as the youkai child fell. He almost felt sorry for him, but if he hadn't wanted to be killed, then he and the others shouldn't have tried to steal it. He fingered the Pearl-like stone on his necklace. It was his, and while he didn't know how they had found out that he had it, they still couldn't have it. The man spared no glance to the fallen, and disappeared.

Hours later, another man came across the gory site. But, unlike the one who caused it, he noticed that one of them wasn't quite dead.

It was a small youkai, a child by the looks of him, with sandy blonde hair and a pale complexion. The man went over to him. He noticed that the ones scattered across the way were rough looking, underfed, and looked to not be that trustworthy, if they had been alive, that is. _Theives_, the man dismissed. The boy looked like he had potential, could probably be a good fighter, according to body build. Had an intelligent face...The man starred a moment longer before picking the boy up.

_I need someone to pass on to anyhow, might as well be him._

Once again, he looked at the child in his arms.

_Who knows...maybe he'll do something worthwhile..._he smirked_...or at least noticeable._

And with that thought in his mind, the Hunter walked back the way he came, a boy in his arms and a purpose in his steps.

* * *

AN:

LETS GET ONE THING STRAIGHT!! This is a teaser. It WILL be completed! I'm writting the 6th chapter to it now, and I need to finish, or at least work more, on KotS. Hint: when this fic is over, read KotS, you don't have to, but the sequel to this will make alot more sense if you do. this is partly shamless plug, partly wanting you to understand, seeing as how if I don't warn you, I'll get bombarded by "what is going ON?!?!" 's and such. School just started today, so don't expect miracles, 'kay?

Ja ne


	2. Chapter One: Of Kittens and Tea

Hey peopls!!

Here's my newest installment of ::trumpets:: The Hunted!! yay!

Robin Autumn: You like it? You really do? Cool!! I like your story too! I'm thinking about reading the other one you have posted, also. I think You'll like this chapter, its not really serious yet, more humorous than anything else.

I've taken up enough of your, the readers, valuable reading time, so:

One for the money (which I don't get)

Two for the show (which I don't own)

Three to get ready (::crosses fingers::)

And here we go! (::click!::)

* * *

Chapter One 

A twitch in the grass. Not noticeable if you weren't watching for it. Golden eyes narrowed, finding the source of the twitch.... there!

Soft red eyes danced in amusement as the kitten pounced on his litter mates tail, said litter mate immediately swiping at the other kitten, who, being used to this, fended it off. Yukina laughed, _The kittens Kazuma brought are so cute_.

Yukina was at Genkai's temple, in the garden. She was trying to get some work done, but the antics of the two month old kittens kept on distracting her. Kazuma had brought them here a few days ago, saying that Shizuru had said No More Cats and Could You Keep Them? How could she refuse?

She walked over to the two kittens, and tried putting them back with their other litter mates. The one that had pounced, named Monster, was all black except for his white tipped tail. The other one, which was by now thoroughly annoyed, was named Tsuki, was a pale silver-white, and generally the leader of them. She got them over to the blanket covered basket, only to discover that the 3 remaining kittens had escaped and were wreaking havoc on her cat-nip.

* * *

A shadowy figure in the trees above the garden watched the mint-haired girl try to save her cat-nip from five kittens, smirking as one hid in the tall grass. The girl was laughing, there fore she was happy, so he didn't _have_ to kill the buffoon that had given her those kittens. The kitten that had been hiding in the grass—Monster?—leapt into Yukina's arms, purring. 

_Don't have to, but it doesn't mean I'm not tempted to_, he growled under his breath. Yukina looked up into the tree at the small sound, eyes resting on the shadowy form after a moment. She smiled.

"Hiei, won't you come down and have some tea?"

_Damnit_.

* * *

Yukina bustled about the kitchen, looking for her tea mix as water boiled. She hadn't really been surprised to find Hiei in the tree; he was always looking out for her, watching over her. To everyone else, he didn't say much, and was actually kind of rude sometimes. But never to her, he was always polite. _But,_ she thought as she found the tea, _even though he's always there, he never seems to want to talk_. She added the tea mix to the water. _I wonder why?_

She let the tea seep for a minute, before bringing it to the table in the living room, where a very uncomfortable Hiei was sitting. She served him tea, at which he muttered a "thank you" for. She smiled, and sat down.

"How have you been, Hiei?"

"Good, and you?" he replied, sounding like he was trying not to say anything that might offend her.

She smiled. "Good. Genkai was very nice to have let me stay here until I find my brother." At this her smile faltered. "...Hiei?"

Hiei had kept his face emotionless, but he was wincing on the inside. _Oh no, here it comes_, he thought morbidly. "Yes?"

Yukina fidgeted with the end of her kimono. "Have you found him yet?" Her eyes were hopeful.

_I'm sorry_, he thought. "No, not yet."

And the hope died. "Oh..." Yukina said, looking into her tea as though it would hold all the answers. Hiei had said he would help her find her twin brother, but so far, no luck. _Why? Doesn't my brother WANT to find me? Is it because I'm weak? Am I not worthy? Does he not like me?_

_Oh, sister, if only you knew..._he mentally slapped himself. _She'd be a lot happier not knowing who her bother is, keeping her image of him, than finding her brother and knowing he's a convicted murderer and thief_.

Each wrapped in their own thoughts, no one noticed the wards around the temple go off, signaling that someone was coming

* * *

"Man!! Does grandma HAVE to have all these steps?" 

"Well Yusuke, she DOES live at the top of a hill."

"You call this a hill? Looks more like a mini-mountain to me..."

A black haired teen rolled his chocolate colored eyes, annoyed. "Thanks for making the journey that much more bearable, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara beamed proudly, striking a pose. "Anything to help a friend, 'cause I'm The Great Kuwabara with the—"

"We only have a short way to go before we reach the top." The third teen spoke up, cutting off Kuwabara's speech with the ease of familiarity. He brushed his blood red locks out of his hair.

"Since we're almost there, can you PLEASE tell us WHY we have to go to Grandmas on a WEEKEND, Kurama??" Yusuke said, irritated.

"AND this early?" Kuwabara chimed in.

Kurama looked at the two teens strangely, and said as in as patient a tone as he could muster, said, "It's around 1 in the afternoon, I would hardly call that 'early'"

Yusuke snorted. "That's because you get up at five EVERY morning, school day or not. You just don't know what its like to sleep in."

Kuwabara looked pole-axed "FIVE o'clock??? EVERY day?!?!" He looked at Kurama, his onyx eyes wide in mixed disbelief and horror.

Yusuke cut in again "You didn't answer the question."

Kurama looked at his two companions, emerald eyes amused "Why, no. I didn't."

Yusuke was about to retort, when they reached the temple, Kuwabara immediately yelling, "YUKIIIIINAAAAA!" in a love struck voice. Yusuke made a gagging face; you could practically SEE the hearts floating around Kuwabara's orange head. Kurama just kept his face expressionless.

* * *

"YUKIIIIINAAAAA!" the irritating voice of what was in Hiei's mind, the most irritating person in the three worlds, rang over the once peaceful temple grounds. 

Yukina and Hiei snapped out of their thoughts, looking towards the direction the voice had come from; Yukina in happiness, Hiei in resigned annoyance. "Kazuma!" Yukina said joyfully, going to the door to greet her guests.

"Hn." Hiei grunted. He did NOT like Kuwabara. May as well leave before he witnesses any more stupidity from him. Using his speed, he got up and left through the window, left open to the breeze. However, he didn't leave, not yet. He didn't trust Kuwabara, or, for that matter, ANYone, with the exception being Kurama and Genkai, with his sister. So what if she didn't know he was her brother? That didn't make him any less protective (if anything it made him more).

He settled into a comfortable spot in the braches of a nearby tree. From his vantage point, he could not only hear what was being said, but could see clearly into the room, and no one could see him. Perfect.

* * *

Yukina hurried to the door. She had more visitors! She opened the door, and went outside. Kazuma, she already knew he was there, she'd heard the yell...Oh! There was Yusuke...and Kurama! It wasn't often all four of the boys were here at the same time, not without the girls being here too. _I wonder why? I wouldn't have minded..._

"Yukina!" Kuwabara was there in a flash, beaming.

"Hello Kazuma, what are you doing here? And Yusuke and Kurama, also. Would you like to come in for tea? I've already got some made, and I could probably make something to eat, too..." She said as she went back inside, thinking about what to make.

"Actually, Yukina, is Genkai here? We need to speak with her, its urgent."

Yukina stopped, turning around. "I'm sorry, Kurama. Genkai isn't at the temple today, she said that she had to visit someone, and get some things done." Seeing Kurama's distraught look, she added, "She said she would be back before sunset, but you're welcome to stay until she gets back."

"Sure, why not?" Yusuke said, cutting Kurama off before he could even start to say no. Kuwabara was just as happy to be staying; after all, it gave him an excuse to be by his 'sweet heart'.

Yukina led the others to the living room, talking along the way. "Kazuma, the kittens you brought over are so cute! Even if they do like to hide when they have to go back into the basket. Genkai said that she should put them all in a box and mail them somewhere, but she didn't really mean it...I think." Yusuke snickered, Kuwabara looked caught between wanting to laugh or be worried for the kittens, while Kurama smiled. Yukina continued, "I was trying to get them earlier, and when I finally got them in, Hiei visited."

"The shrimp came here?" Kuwabara asked in a tone of disgust. Kuwabara disliked Hiei as much as Hiei disliked Kuwabara.

"Yes, he did. I invited him in for some tea, and he's still here, actually..." just as she said this, they got to the living room, finding the two cups of cooling tea, and no Hiei. "...or, he was..." Yukina trailed off, her voice sad. She sighed, and took Hiei's cup to the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with three new cups.

The boys chorused a "Thank you" and accepted the offered cups. They all sat down at the table, silent. Finally though, Yukina broke it by saying, "Kurama, what was it you wanted to speak to Genkai about?"

At this, Yusuke and Kuwabara perked up, wanting to (finally!) hear the reason why they had to come all the way to Genkai's. Kurama just sighed and set his cup down. "Koenma contacted me just a few hours ago. We have a new mission."

* * *

"Dearly beloved  
We are here today  
To get through this thing called life"

_Lets go crazy_, by Prince

Because I wanted to put that there, and you'll get it later


	3. Chapter Two: Information, weirdness, and...

Well, here's ch. 2 written for your pleasure to the sound of some classical music that I forget the name of by some dead guy that I also forget the name of

Now if only my C.D. player wouldn't skip it so much and I could listen to the entire song before going to the middle of a different one. glare oh well, keeps me on my toes at least. For instance, right now there's some opera on. I can't understand a word of it, but it sounds cool!

* * *

Chapter Two 

Information, weirdness, and darkness

* * *

Hiei perked up. A new mission? Shit. What does that damn toddler want now? 

He listened in on the conversation.

"A new mission? THAT'S why we had to be here?" That was Yusuke. So, all three of them were there, eh?

"What does Koenma want this time? Another baddie needing to be taught a lesson? Rescue mission? Retrieval for some weird artifact that no one knows the uses for any more?" The Baka. Hiei rolled his eyes. A lot of help HE'LL be.

"Well...actually...its—ah—well..." Was the fox actually at a LOSS for WORDS? _There's a first_ he thought, raising an eyebrow. This was almost to good to be true. He would have to taunt him about it. Later. For now, might as well take a nap. He closed his eyes and leaned back into a more comfortable position on the tree branch. Who cared about what that pacifier breath wanted anyhow?

* * *

Yukina looked at Kurama, wondering why he looked so uncomfortable. He kept on looking at her, then at the boys, as if he wanted to say what it was, but not in front of her. Yukina came to a decision. 

"Do any of you want something to eat?" she asked, standing up. Kurama looked relieved. _Hmm..._

Yusuke and Kuwabara enthusiastically replied, while Kurama declined, saying that he had already had lunch.

Yukina left the room, in the direction of the kitchen, but she didn't go, not yet. _Just what does he want to say without me hearing it?_ Now, she didn't usually eavesdrop, but she had a feeling it had to do with her, and she wanted to know what it was. She knew they were keeping something from her already, and thought her to be naïve, but _really_ now...she positioned herself just outside the room, where she could hear them, even if they whispered, and waited.

A sigh...silence...then...

"So fox boy...what was that you were saying that you didn't want Yukina to hear?" She smiled. Yusuke might appear to be unobservant, but like herself, he was more than what he showed.

"Yeah, I could sense you were holding something back..." oh, that's right, Kazuma has ESP. Good thing he wasn't concentrating on her at the moment, other wise he'd know she was there...

Another sigh, and the sound of fingers tapping on the table..."There's a koorime hunter loose in Ningenkai."

Yukina bit her lip to hold in a gasp. Hard. Vaguely she felt her lip bleed, but...a _hunter_? Here? She felt herself getting dizzy, and forced herself to breathe, noticing her lip. She moved, slowly and deliberately, towards the kitchen, trying to be calm, her mind a whirlwind. Absently, she healed her lip, moving automatically; not paying attention to what she was doing as she made the boys food. _Okay, calm, CALM. _Another breath in. _Now then, there aren't many koorime hunters, a lot of hunters, but not that many that specialize in the koorime. _She thought about it for another minute. _In fact...I think the last one died years ago. So...who?_

She finished making the food, and steadied herself. Can't show any sign that she had heard. She forced a smile that felt fake enough to sell, and made her way back.

* * *

"...Loose in Ningenkai." 

Hiei's eyes snapped open, himself nearly falling out of the tree. _What the Hell?! Impossible! It can't be...I killed them all as soon as I had the strength to_. He fingered his katana, belted to his side, for a moment, nervous. _Not good, NOT good..._

He realized that the others had been talking while he had zoned out. He eagerly listened. "...actly what he said, Yusuke. We have to warn Genkai. She'll be better able to protect her if she's warned."

"Warned about what?" said a voice. Yukina was back in the room. He hoped she hadn't heard, he didn't want her worrying...or scared. He wanted his sister to be happy, not sad and sick with worry.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it Yukina." For once Hiei was thankful to the big oaf.

"We were just talking about...uh...."

Thankfulness short lived.

"The party!" what was Yusuke blathering about? "You see, uh, grandma's birthday is gonna be soon, and we, uh, didn't want her to be warned that we were gonna throw her a surprise party, yeah!" _good cover up, detective, you might ACTUALLY have a brain in there...somewhere._ He thought sarcastically. _If it weren't for one...tiny...little...detail._

"Oh, but isn't Genkai's birthday in November?" Yukina asked innocently. Hiei smirked. If it weren't for that little detail, it would have been a good cover up story, seeing as how IT'S THE MIDDLE OF JUNE!! Hiei sighed. He really _was_ surrounded by idiots.

There was an awkward pause in the room. Then the fox spoke up. "Well...you can never start to early..." Hiei could almost see the sweat drop going down his face.

"Oh...well, here's your food, Kazuma, Yusuke." Yukina seems to have bought it, amazing. He felt his Jagan give off a warning. There was someone coming to the temple...but then why weren't the wards going off? There were, of course, two possible reasons behind this. One, it was the person that had made the wards, which meant it was Genkai. The other reason...Hiei's eyes narrowed to slits...the other reason, would make it being someone...most likely the hunter...using specialized wards of their own, masking their presence, or disabling other wards.

Hiei loosened his katana in it's sheath, noting that Kuwabara was telling the others that he was getting a "bad" feeling. _There is only one thing I trust about him, and that's his ESP_, he thought grimly, heading off in the direction of whoever was coming to the temple.

Yukina didn't believe a word of it. _They really MUST think I'm stupid if they think I believe that_, she thought sourly. She gave Kazuma and Yusuke their food, and sat down, her face smiling and not showing a trace of her thoughts.

Suddenly, Kuwabara stiffened, his face looking blankly ahead. Kurama looked at him, the first to notice. "Are you well, Kuwabara?"

"...bad feeling."

Yusuke looked up from gorging himself. "wha- ya mean, 'ad ellin''?" ((AN: his mouth was full of food. He said "what do you mean, 'bad feeling'?))

Kuwabara shuddered as he stood up, food untouched. "Something's coming, and it ain't friendly." He then turned around and left, heading towards whatever it was.

Three pairs of shocked eyes watched him leave. Yukina looked at the two boys still at the table. _Are they just going to let him go? By himself??_

As if sensing her thoughts, Yusuke stood up. "Well, you heard him. Something's coming, don't you think we should go and greet 'em?" he said, cracking his knuckles and anticipation on his face. _Trust Yusuke to be the one that actually wants to fight._

Kurama also stood up, and gracefully said, in his politely silky manner, "Why, yes, Yusuke. I think we should. Yukina," he turned to her, "stay inside, and don't come out until we say to. Find a place to hide, alright?"

"I will, Kurama." She stood up quickly, heading deeper into the temple. She knew just where to go.

After all, just because she had to hide...

She looked back just before turning a corner, to see Yusuke and Kurama head out the door.

...didn't mean, she couldn't watch.

_And_, she thought, opening the door to the room she wanted, _like Ruri always said. If you can see it, you can change it_.

* * *

Kurama watched Yukina walk away, then turned and followed Yusuke outside. He knew Hiei was around, somewhere. And if he was around, then he had, inevitably, heard the conversation. 

Kurama reached out through his and Hiei's link. -_Hiei?_-

-_What is it, Fox?_-

Good. He wasn't feeling like ignoring him today.

-_Your opinion?_- he didn't have to say on what, he already knew.

-..._bad._-

Kurama made it outside. Yusuke was already there, to the right and a little behind Kuwabara. They were looking out at the wood surrounding the temple. Kurama flicked a glance back at the trees just off to the side of where they were, knowing that Hiei was in one of them, silent, waiting, for the right moment to strike.

Kurama took a mental inventor of what he had on him. Not good. He hadn't come prepared for a fight; not to say he was defenseless, but it could have been better. He noted, while trying to assess the energies from whatever it was, that Kuwabara had summoned his sword, and Yusuke had his spirit gun ready. He reached into his hair, and pulled out a rose. A flick of the wrist and a little bit of energy later, and his trade mark rose whip was out.

He stood ready, in a stance that would enable to attack or defend, concentrating on the energy from the forest. Suddenly, the energy flickered, and vanished! _What the..._ he had time to think, before the world was reduced to pain and darkness

AN:

-I have no idea when Genkai's Birthday is. If they mention it in the series, I haven't seen it yet (I'm only on the part of The House of Four Dimensions)

-The way I figure it, Hiei isn't all vengeful and crap against the Koorime, so why not? Sides, it adds plot

-I don't know whether it's Ruri or Rui, can someone tell me?

Muahahahahaha!! I am evil, leaving a cliff hanger like that.

Jenna: You call _that_ evil? That's nothing. I'll show you eeevill...thunder and lightning accompanied by evil laughter, courtesy of Jenna

Teran: sweat drop Uh...how about you wait until NEXT chapter to do that?

Jenna: gives 'cutest-thing-since-they-invented-fluffy-bunnies' look Okay!

Ah...ANYWAY...don't you just hate me? I'm changing Yukina's personality (to something _I_ consider more interesting), I'm adding to Hiei's past, _and_ I just knocked Kurama out. All this without even _seeing_ the hunter!! And the end...well, lets just say it'll be different from what you'll expect to happen. I mean, every time something like what I'm thinking of comes up, it's a cliché ending; I HATE cliché endings, don't you?

Well, I'm out, see ya, and DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW

Ja ne!

"_Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war._"  
- Shakespeare


	4. Chapter Three: Aren't Mine Feilds Fun?

Okay, its like 10 at night and I'm supposed to be sleeping. Some thing about getting me on regular hours or something ((regular hours? What are those? ::drinking coffee at 2 in the morning, having woken up 3 hours ago::)) ::twitches sporadically::

Jenna: ...you frighten me sometimes

Me: I learned it from you so don't even start. On with the Fic!!

**REALLY IMPORTANT NOTICE AT BOTTOM!!!!!**

* * *

Ch. 3 

Aren't Mine Feilds Fun?

* * *

Koenma was Not Happy. 

His father was on vacation, again! You would think that he would have at least asked him, his son, his _heir_, to go with him, but nooo—

The doors to his office slammed open, startling the toddler-like demi-god, as a blue skinned, blonde haired ogre ran through, waving a tape around. "Koenma sir! Koenma sir!! Reikai intelligence has just—"

"What is it Ogre?! I am very busy! Can't you see all the paper work I have?!" Koenma shouted right back at the cowering ogre, gesturing to the papers littering his desk with empathic gestures. Of course, he hadn't REALLY been working, but he wasn't about to tell HIM that.

"S-sor-rry K-koenma sir, but this is top priority, straight from intelligence." The ogre stuttered out.

"WHAT?! Why didn't you say so?! Pop the tape in, already!" Koenma snapped, almost losing his binki.

"Yessir." The ogre said meekly. He went over to the large T.V. screen that took up nearly half the wall, and put the tape into the small VCR near the bottom. The ogre stepped back, and Koenma turned on the T.V., via his remote that he kept in his desk.

The screen turned fuzzy, then showed a wild wood, strange undergrowth everywhere, trees that were so close it was a miracle the figure on the screen was moving at all. Judging by that alone, and because no forest in Ningenkai had plants like that, it could only be in the Makai. The figure turned out to be an average height man, with milk like complexion and pale blue eyes.

He was also stepping through a portal.

To Ningenkai.

Genkai's temple to be exact.

Koenma watched, his golden brown eyes wide. There was total silence as the video went fuzzy; neither the ogre or Koenma daring to breathe.

Koenma was the one that shattered the silence.

"Oh HELL! BOOOTAAAN!!!!!

* * *

_What?_ Just as Kurama had taken out his rose, a teal green glow had surrounded the three, gone before he could be sure of what he saw. Before he could try to figure out just what it was— 

_BOOM!_

A flash of golden white, and Kurama was down. Hiei's eyes widened. The energy blast had come from _behind_ so that meant—

Startled cries at the sight of their fallen comrade were cut short, with two more booms and flashes, and Kuwabara and Yusuke had fallen.

—The hunter was behind him!

_Shit_.

Hiei ran. A moving target was better than being a sitting one, though being a target at all was bad enough. A second after he had moved, he found that staying in one place for any length of time was not the best of ideas, because an energy blast incinerated the tree he had been in with a muted _BOOM!_

He's fast! Hiei used half his speed, zigzagging around the grounds, blasts marking his passage. He was trying to figure out where the darn things were coming from, when one blast hit right where he was about to step. He spotted it just in time and leapt into the air, looking around. 

They were ever where! The blasts weren't being shot, because they were already there. It was like a minefield. The only reason he hadn't seen it before had been because he had been to busy trying to avoid them. He scowled. _Stupid, you need to train more, if you're getting tricked this easily!_

_Alright, I can either move the battle to the forest, where I know the terrain better, and while there isn't much space to move around in, he probably doesn't have a minefield set up, and I'll not have the vaguest idea of where he is; or I can stay here, in this mine field, where I can barely detect the bombs in the first place, but I'll likely find the hunter somewhere around here._

_Split second decision, what's it gonna be? _

* * *

Yukina looked at the mirror. She held her hands out to it, extended her energy...just...a bit...there, now, you just..._twist_. 

The mirror clouded over. After a second, it showed Kurama walking to the other boys, calm as can be.

_Okay, now for the hard part._ Inhale. _Just like Genkai showed you_. Exhale.

She reached her hands forward, fingers and power extended. Her fingers stopped at the glass. Her energy didn't. It wrapped around the boys, forming an aura around them before melting into their skin; _A skin tight shield_, she thought in the back of her head. They wouldn't notice it, but it would take some of the damage aimed at them, and still allow them to attack at will. It would crack under to much strain though.

She turned her attention away from them, tweaking her energy in the mirror. Like some of the boys, she was also a student of Genkai, but her learning wasn't as obvious as theirs. Where Yusuke got Genkai's fighting skills, Kuwabara her psychic abilities along with fighting, Yukina got her healing and spells. The way Genkai had it out, all her abilities would live on long after she died...again.

Genkai had died during the Dark Tournament, ended nought but a month ago, but like Yusuke, had gotten a second chance.

Yukina shook her head. _Getting off track, need to see if Hiei is still around_. She found him. He was in the closest clump of trees behind the three boys.

She was about to do the same to Hiei as she had done to Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, when suddenly everyone outside was attacked. She Saw/Felt her spell shatter at the force of it. _At least it absorbed most of it. They won't die._ She thought numbly, the pain of it raw.

She shook it off as much as she could, and looked again. Hiei was running, but the blasts...she looked closer. _They aren't being fired. It's like what Karasu did at the Tournament, only this is a minefield_, she thought in horror. _There's nothing I can do..._

* * *

"What IS it, Koenma?" fumed a very angry Ferry Girl, who was currently narrowing cotton candy eyes at her employer. She was wearing her pink working kimono, and her hair was coming loose from its usual perkish-ly high pony tail. _Already, 20 people, not five, not even ten, 20! people needing to be ferried to Reikai, and I've only been on duty for a half-hour!! What is going ON down there?!?!_ she thought irritably. 

Koenma looked at Botan, taking in the narrowed pink eyes with the tic, pinched expression, tense posture, all of it. But he mainly eyed the oar, which was grasped very tightly by white knuckles, that were shaking with the repressed urge to swing it up side his head. He decided to make it quick.

"I need you to get to Genkai's immediately. There's a hunter loose, and he's heading towards the temple. All of the team is there, along with Yukina. Genkai herself is out doing whatever it is she does when she goes out. You need to warn them. Now. It is of utmost importance, everything else must wait!"

Botan's irritableness was immediately replaced with worry. She didn't waste time. There were very few reasons why a hunter would be heading to Genkai's, and she didn't like any of them. She hopped on her oar, and before Koenma could say anything else, was gone.

"Well...that was easier than expected." Koenma remarked out loud, the ogre nodding in mute agreement.

* * *

Yukina looked at the battle in despair. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama were out, and Hiei was running though a mine field, which, from the looks of it, was just all over the place. He had tried to get to the trees, and he had made it, she'll give him that, but he had come out not ten seconds later, a large _boom_ showing that it even extended into the forest. This was Not Good At All. 

The mirror shivered, and Yukina changed the view, trying to find out what had caused it. There was a figure coming towards the temple, pink, blue, and flying.

Botan!!

* * *

AN: 

Yes, a cliff hanger. Not very many people will complain about this though because not very many people I think will be reading this. tear oh well. Who cares? This is fun to write

Jenna: ::rolls eyes::

Teran: ::pokes:: Jenna

Jenna: what?

Teran: weren't you supposed to do something evil this chapter?

Jenna: ::evil glint in eyes:: why...yes, my dear Teran, I was, wasn't I?

Teran: ::sweat drop:: uh...

Jenna: ::lunges for Teran::

Me: ::Comes in front and puts a sign that says 'censored' up, blocking view::

::scuffling sounds, screaming, evil laughter, _BOOM!::_

Me: ::takes sign down::

Jenna: ::whistling innocently::

Teran: ::traumatized:: mommy...?

Me: and there you have it, Jenna has traumatized Teran which IS more evil than my cliff hanger. Spoil sport...

Good news!!! My laptop desn't hate me anymore!! ::attempts to hug laptop, but this is difficult considering its open, on, and connected to internet:: er, yeah, anyways****

**REALLY IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!**

I really don't like this chapter. It just doesn't feel right. I am seriously considering not putting it up at all, thats how horrid I think it is. In fact, I think that all the chapters I have made for this so far need some serious help, which leads up to why this is here in the first place...

This is a shout out to all interested in becoming a beta reader. I am in serious need of a second opinion to both my fics before they get posted. Just as soon as I get the next chapter for KotS, there'll be a notice in that one too. Reveiw to offer services, or email me ((its posted on my look up)), though if you do, give the subject something I'll recognize, kay?

Okay, taking up too much space

Ja ne!

Cathy


	5. Chapter Four: Eyes of Ice

YO! SUP? Alright ya'll, you have Poltergeist Roport 101 to thank for this chapter, because they're the one that reveiwed and led to me feeling guilty which led to me getting up off my lazy butt and update this thing!! whoo, now THERE's a run-on sentence! I added and changed a few bits of this chapter, but if you have any questons/suggestions, then please, PLEASE, tell me, because I'm SO gonna revise this once I'm done, and before I start the sequel, Beljoseph knows what I'm talking about, but I'M NOT TELLING!! MUHAHAHA....

Okay, so here's your chapter, read, enjoy, reveiw, though really, you can just go straight to the reveiw part, I won't mind

* * *

Chapter 4 

Eyes of Ice

* * *

Step left, dodge right, move forward, turn right, run forward, jump backwards, dodge left and forward, jump up, get blown to the right by the mine you hadn't seen. Repeat. 

This pretty much summed up Hiei's situation, with variation, of course.

_Damnit where are you?!_ Hiei was getting mad. Extremely mad. And quickly. A flicker of energy was all the warning he got, before, once again, he was blown to the side. _This is taking to long! If I don't end this soon..._ He didn't finish that thought. After all, there couldn't be that many mines left, could there? He had already tried to find them with his Jagon, no luck there; he had tried to move to the trees, but the minefield had extended out there also, and in greater numbers; whoever was doing this was hiding his energy very well, because he hadn't sensed him at all, and dividing his attention between using the Jagon to find him and dodging mines was....unhealthy, to say the least. _More like suicidal_, he thought grimly.

He had gotten hit several times; there wasn't that much blood, but it _hurt_.

_BOOM!_

And then he ran into a _very_ large cluster of mines, all of which going off at the same time. Hiei then got lessons in flying.

_Oww..._he thought fuzzily, pain washing over his mind, making it hard to concentrate. Vaguely, he felt weightless, floating, and then falling, and landing, although it felt softer than it should have...

A flash of blue and a faint worried voice....

...and darkness was all he saw.

* * *

Botan shifted the burden in her arms, handing it to the person behind her. A snort, then a rough voice, saying "Baka, he should have been able to avoid the mines easily." Botan flew higher into the sky, until the temple was but a speck. 

"Well, he should have, he didn't, not much we can do about it now" Botan replied.

Another snort. "Well, lets get back, I want to get those mines dispersed and start fixing any repairs caused...after we see to the dimwit and the others, of course."

Botan paused, then started descending at what to anyone else would have been an alarming rate.

"Of course, Genkai."

* * *

Yukina ran out of the room. She knew Genkai and Botan were here, therefore, it was safe. She wanted to help Genkai raise a shield around the temple, that way no one could— 

_BOOM!_

The door blew open, and since Yukina was almost there, she got caught in the blast. The door hit her, and while it did hurt, it _did_ shielded her from all other debris. She pushed the door off her with difficulty, and sat there seeing who she assumed was the one that blew the door up.

It was a male youkai, blue eyes, blonde hair utilitarian short. He had milkmaid skin, and pointed ears. There were tattoos on every part of skin she could see, which wasn't much. He had brown leather pants, a multi shaded green long sleeved shirt, but she could see that under it was some sort of leather armor. It had a hood, but it was down, and lastly there ware soft leather boots. He might have been handsome, if it weren't for the coldness of his eyes; they were like ice, not the normal kind, but the biting cold of extreme apathy, all the emotoins that made you more than an intelligent animal stripped away, leaving nothing but a kind of simmering rage, held in check only by a strong will and calculating thoughts. His face made him look hard; _granite carved into a shape like a face_, a part of her that wasn't scrambling to figure out how to get away noted.

He spotted her, and smiled. It was even worse when he smiled, making his face turn from stern to malicious. He slowly walked towards her, boots crunching random debris made by the explosion. It was a slow kind of walk, one that said he had time to spare in getting to where he was going, because he was going to get what he wanted no matter what. She shuddered, and he smiled wider.

When he got to the point to where he just had to reach out to touch her, he stopped and reached his hand towards her.

Seeing the hand coming towards her, she snapped out of it and sent an icicle towards his chest. He dodged, faster than the eye could see, and looked at her, frowning, narrowing his ice eyes. She would have scrambled away, but the ice in his eyes froze her to the spot.

He studied her, and the seconds ticked by. Finally,

"You look just like him."

She widened her eyes. What in the three worlds was he talking about?

He must have seen the question in her eyes, for he chuckled, and said, "Why, your brother, of course. You look just like him. Same height, face...eyes" he hissed the last part out, narrowing his own eyes again.

She gasped. He knew her brother? How? NO! he was lying! _HE_ couldn't possibly know her brother. She refused to believe it. She narrowed her eyes right back, that action saying what words couldn't. _You're a lying bastard and I don't care because I'm not listening_.

He chuckled again, sending shivers down her spine. Inari, she wished he would stop doing that! "Well, as much as I would _love_," he sneered, reaching for something behind his back, "to chat with you, I need to kill you." He looked falsely apologetic. "Nothing personal, you understand, but business is business." He revealed what he had been reaching for. A gun.

He pointed it at her, cocked it, and she swore she was going to die. She closed her eyes, waiting for the blow. She heard a grunt, and the sound of a body hitting the ground, and labored breathing. She opened her eyes, and looked, eyes wide.

Hiei was standing there, slightly hunched over, left arm over his stomach, looking like he was standing up by pure will power. The hunter was on the ground, looking at Hiei with a hate that was almost holy. The gun was on the other side of Hiei, so he couldn't reach it. The hunter snarled, reaching behind him, she assumed, for some other weapon. Suddenly he stopped, eyes going to the open doorway. There was the sound of running coming towards them. He spared one last hate filled glance towards her and Hiei, then sped out what remained of the doorway. The sounds were getting louder. Hiei looked over at her, eyes glazed.

"Are you alright?" she winced. His voice sounded horrid, scratchy and hoarse. She nodded.

"He didn't do anything to me before you showed up." just scared the life out of her what with him talking about her brother.

He nodded. "Good." The running sounds were even louder, signaling that whoever it was, was going to be there in the next few seconds. Right on cue, Genkai, followed closely by Botan, stood in the wreckage of the doorway, taking in the scene before them. Hiei, however, didn't notice, for just as they arrived, he fell to his knees, gasping and clutching his stomach. He stayed that way for a few seconds, before pitching forward, out cold.

* * *

Botan dipped a cloth in warm water, helping Yukina to clean Hiei's wounds. The others, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama, had awoken a few minutes ago, told their story, and passed out again, though this time it was just out of exhaustion, instead of the shock of a powerful attack. Hiei was out cold still. Genkai had said she wouldn't be surprised if all the boys slept through till morning; something about the youki that the hunter had used, energy draining, or some such. It had been about an hour since the attack. They had moved all the boys to separate guest rooms, not wanting them to just stay where they had fallen. That had taken about half an hour. Now she and Yukina were cleaning Hiei's wounds, while Genkai looked at the other boys. 

She bit her lip. She had known Hiei was wounded, but _this_—

He had been stripped to the waist, so the could work better and see what the were doing. He had countless cuts along his arms, legs, chest, and back area. You could hardly see his skin there were so many! But what worried her most was his stomach. Apparently, that group of bombs he had set off just when she and Genkai had arrived, had been closer than the others. He had a hole in his stomach, a big one. She had helped Yukina to heal it fist, before going on to the others. It wasn't completely healed, but it wasn't life threatening anymore. Neither of them were that good at healing, and the wounds weren't exactly cooperating with what healing _was_ getting through, so they were doing it the old fashioned way.

She looked over to Yukina. She was healing the cuts as best she could along his left arm. She looked so intent. Sometimes, when she concentrated on something very hard, the resemblance between her and Hiei was scary. If their personalities weren't at opposite ends of the spectrum, their relationship would be as obvious as some one screaming in a library.

Her mind wandered to the boys' story. There was a Koorime hunter, and it was after Yukina. She would need around the clock protection, and not just Genkai. The other boys had school, so they couldn't be here all day; that left Hiei to watch over her. _Though Hiei likely does that anyway, he's so protective!_

She looked at the flame koorime.

_Get well soon Hiei. Your sister needs you... _

* * *

_Warmth. Quiet. Completeness. There was the Big One, that was ColdWarm. She was Half of the Complete. The Other Half was Warm too; Different but the Same. With Big One and Other Half, she was Complete and Safe._

_Quiet left and now Loud took his place. Other Half was gone too, taking Safe along with._

_Plink._

_Plink._

_Plink._

_Something was Hitting her; Big One was making water-stones, they were falling on her. She cried. Where was Other Half?_

_Then The Feeling._

_She was falling falling falling, and she was ANGRY but then the fear fear fear because she was falling down down DOWN—_

Yukina sat up in bed, gasping for the air she couldn't find. After a few minutes, she lay back down, having regained control of her breathing, though her heart was bent on escaping her chest. _What is going on? I haven't had that dream in...years!_ She took a deep breath. The dream always affected her this way, leaving the impression of the fear her twin brother had felt when he had been thrown from the cliff. She swallowed. _How can he stand it? All I'm getting is the faintest of ripples from it; he's got the full impact of it!_

She heard the clock in the hallway chime 12 times. Midnight then, and her wide awake. Not a good combination. She sighed a got up, wrapping herself in a robe over her night clothes. She might as well check in on the boys; make sure they're alright and all.

She walked until she found the first of the boys rooms. She peeked in. Yusuke was sprawled on the futon, sheets in disarray and drool coming out of his mouth. She gave a rueful smile, then turned to leave.

"Wait!" She turned back, astonished, and blinked. He was still asleep, but then who...? "That's MY pizza, go get your own!" Yusuke growled, frowning at someone only he saw. She stifled a giggle and shut the door, leaning against it until the fit passed, though her mouth still quirked.

She opened the next door, Kazuma's. He was curled up under the covers, though his sheets, too, were in equal disarray. _He looks so adorable when he's sleeping_, she though fondly, quietly shutting the door.

Kurama was sleeping normally, neat even in sleep.

The last door was Hiei's. She opened it quietly, to a sight she hadn't expected.

Hiei was sitting on the futon, back to her, attempting to put his shredded shirt on, hissing in pain from the half healed cuts. She stayed silent, watching him, though she wanted to rush over a stop him. After a few moments, he got his shirt on, and walked over to where she and Botan had put his Katana. He picked it up, strapping it to his belt. Still with his back to her, he walked over to the window, attempting to open it. She gave a half smile. Genkai knew him too well. He wouldn't be able to get that window open even if he was at full health. None of them wanted him to slip away while they weren't watching, like he was (trying to) now.

He finally gave a sharp tug, giving a sharp intake in breath as he pulled at the stomach wound. She was over there in a flash. The wound was deep enough that if he didn't let it heal, it would cause him permanent damage. Hiei looked up, shocked. She could tell he didn't know what was going on; his eyes were glazed and he had a puzzled look on his face. After a moment, he relaxed, and, for the third time that day, passed out.

She dragged him as gently as she could to the futon. There, she divested him of his shirt and katana, then left the room. She took the katana with her, knowing he wouldn't leave without it.

She just hoped he wasn't _too_ mad in the morning.

* * *

Pain. Darkness. But mostly pain. 

He liked the darkness. It was the place of illusions, challenge, but mostly power. A power to let you go unseen among hated enemies and valued allies alike. A lover to embrace you in sweet softness or bitter pain. Secrets can't escape in darkness. Instead they are silenced, never to be heard from again until the light comes. All to be heard is the shadows whisper, and humanity and all its annoyances fall away leaving peaceful solitude. Peace used for war. A fact of life in its simplest terms. Contradicting, but only to those that don't understand its nature. After all...darkness is only the absence of light.

And in the end...

...there will always be darkness.

* * *

AN: 

There, it took me a few days, but I DID finish writing the dumb chapter. And look! ::gasp:: No cliff hanger!

Jenna: There's a first

Derrick: True, true

Rainy: ::looking at Teran::...um, what did you DO to him?

Teran: ::sucking thumb in a fetal position on floor::

Jenna: ::whistling innocently::

A.H.: Jenna happened

Rainy: Ahh...

Derrick: ::looks at Teran, then to Rainy:: remind me never to get on her bad side

Rainy: I will if you will ::eyeing Jenna, who is sharpening her axes::

Jenna: what?

Here's my quote for the chapter:

_"Language has created the word "lonliness" to express the pain of being alone, and the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone."  
__--Paul Tillich_


	6. Chapter Five: Syrup on the ceiling

AN:

Me: ::cowers:: Don't kill me!!

Jenna: I'm sure they aren't THAT mad at you for not updating ::pats Cathy on back::

Me: ::sniffle:: Thanks Jenna

Teren: Yes, afterall, its only been since...what, OCTOBER 11TH!!!

Jenna: ::looks at calendar:: Oh!...well, December 5th isn't as bad as it could be... ::nervously eyes readers::

Me: What ever. I'm sorry, but this chapter is just...it just irks me, alright? It just doesn't seem that in character for Hiei or Genkai. I needed to speed up the timeline a bit, so this chapter is just...yeah, you'll see. Also, I'm answering reveiws from now on!! WoW oO. Every other time I updated, I kept on forgeting, gomen!

**Robin Autumn**: Shrimp! Rice! And catfish too!! YAY!!!! Yummy yummy! Gotta love the food, Robin, thanks!!

**Inknamida**: Really? I'd been wanting to add that last part for some time, and I just couldn't figure out WHERE, ya know? Oh well, I'm glad someone liked it!!

**Poltergeist report 101**: Well...when you look at it my way, every chapter ending is a cliff hanger, because you just REALLY want to know what happens next. Not sure if thats how you're looking at it that way, but I don't quite know how else to figure out how its a cliff hanger. I'm just a beginer writer you know!! Sorry the dream sequence was confusing, it was meant to be symbolic and in...um...baby terms, you know? Because, Yukina and Hiei where new borns, and while Hiei was able to understand everything, I'm not too sure about Yukina. Hiei and Yukina share the twin-link to a certain degree, and they would be able to feel each others emotions and pain toa certain extent, so I was using what Yukina was getting from the link to describe the part of Hiei falling off the cliff. Every thing else was her perspective. I'm not explaining this too well, am I? ::sweat drop:: Oh well, if you're still confused...I guess I'll go back and re-write it, explain it better.

**GreenTeaRulerAkaQueenChad**: ::accepts penny:: I shall take good care of him, Obewan K'nobe. ::cradles shiny penny:: As for why its in your C2, I'm assuming you went slightly mad from overdosing on cheese cake. I WILL finish it, but its gonna take me awhile. I mean, look at this chapter!! It SUCKS!!

**LivingImpared**: Thankies!!! ::BIG smile::I can't garuntee anything when it comes to updates, sorry about that. I WILL finish this story!! Have no fear!! ::everyone runs away:: what?

* * *

Chapter 5

Syrup?...on the ceiling

* * *

"Give it!"

"No."

"I said give it!"

Genkai gave a flat stare. "If you want it so badly, get up and take it."

Hiei growled. He was NOT in a good mood. He ached all over from yesterday, he had had some of the most disgusting medicine he had ever tasted, and now this human wrinkle was holding his katana hostage! Not to mention, he had had _the_ dream last night…after-which, he had a fuzzy memory of a window that refused to open. THAT annoyed him. Baka window.

"Give. It. To. Me. NOW!!!!"

Yusuke popped his head into the room, annoyed. Hiei was sitting on the bed, and Genkai was a few feet away with…Yusuke's face turned from annoyance to astonishment, then slyness. "Wow Hiei, you must have been OUT of it if she got hold of your sword" he said coyly. Hiei shot him a death glare, and he quickly changed the subject. "Any way, breakfast's ready, and Keiko and Shizuru are here." He rolled his eyes. "They came when they found out Kuwabara and me didn't make it home."

Genkai nodded, then looked at Hiei. "Come to the kitchen if you want some." Here her voice became sarcastic, "If you can't make it, we'll get you some for in here."

Hiei growled. He was NOT an inept weakling that would be down for days after a fight. "I'll go to the kitchen, _thank you._" He snarled.

Genkai smirked. "Good. YOU! This isn't a side show circus! Get moving!" she snapped at Yusuke; he was leaning against the doorframe, watching them like he had nothing better to do, which he probably didn't. He glared at Genkai, sighed, and left, presumably for the kitchen. Genkai looked once more at the small demon, and also headed out.

Hiei then got out of bed, slowly. He didn't want to tear his half healed stomach, THAT would not only be painful, but would impede his movements more so. Not very pleasant, in his opinion.

After a few minutes, he had made his way to the kitchen, and came upon a site that made him want to either leave and pretend he hadn't seen what his idiotic allies were doing, or decapitate half of said allies. Well, he was hungry, and the food was in there. His katana was still with the hag, so he couldn't decapitate them…yet. That left one option. He sighed, and made his was into the maelstrom of activity that consisted of the kitchen at the time.

There was food EVERY WHERE. Kuwabara was on the other side of the fridge, using it as a shield for the eggs Yusuke, who was behind the table which was turned on its side, was throwing at him. Keiko was behind the small shield Yukina had erected for protection against the flying food, glaring daggers at Yusuke, who ignored her. Genkai was off to the side, a look of evil contemplation in her eyes as she watched the two boys. _Probably thinking up a painful punishment_, he thought. Shizuru was at the other entrance, calm as ever, eating her food, though her eyes were the same as Genkai's. Botan was looking though the window, on her oar. She had apparently flown out when food went flying.

Kuwabara threw some of the grits he had taken for ammo, aiming for Yusuke. However, at the sound of Hiei's sigh, his head whipped around to where he was, aim going off. The grits flew through the air, everyone watching in silence, until they hit their unintended target.

Shizuru had her eyes closed, an anger mark forming. She set her food on the floor, and wiped her face. When the grits were (mostly) off, she turned her gaze to her brother, her left eye ticking. Kuwabara looked at her, backing up until he hit the wall, saying, "Uh, hey sis, I uh, um, didn't see ya there, and um, uh, oh! Would you look the time, I really gotta go—"

Shizuru was there in a flash, towering over her brother, who seemed to want to shrink, or at least fade into the wall; neither happened. She grabbed Kuwabara's collar, dragging him up wards so her angry face.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? THROWING FOOD WAS ONE THING, HITTING ME IS ANOTHER THING ALTOGETHER! NO VIDEO GAMES FOR A MONTH!!" Shizuru yelled into his face. She let go of him, and turned around to walk out the door, like she hadn't just given the ultimate punishment to her baby brother. Kuwabara, however, had slumped to the floor, a shocked look on his face.

"N-n-no v-v-video games? For a MONTH??"

Yusuke, who had come out from behind the table, snickered at his friends predicament. "Oh, wow, Kuwabara, no video games for an entire month! Do you want to write out your will now, or just let us decide who gets your stuff when you die?" He snickered again.

SMACK!

Suddenly Yusuke was lying on the floor, dazed, an angry Keiko standing over him, hand still in position for another slap.

Yukina had apparently noticed Hiei's presence, and rushed over to him, worried. "Are you alright, Hiei? We weren't able to heal—"

"I'm fine, I just wanted to get some food, but it seems…" he looked at the pancakes on the floor, juice on the walls, and…syrup? on the ceiling, "otherwise unattainable." He said, raising an eyebrow.

Yukina glanced at the kitchen, seeming to realize the extent of the mess. "Oh! Well, I can make some more, don't worry about that."

"How about we clean up a bit though, first?" Botan said, sailing through the window, and landing lightly on a clean spot.

"Yes, that WOULD be a good idea." Genkai said, dryly.

* * *

Yukina sighed, closing her eyes in the small island of peace, that consisted of her room at the moment. It was a bit after nine, and since that mornings, ah, _excitement_, there hadn't been any time to rest. 

First they had cleaned they kitchen, made a new breakfast, then got down to business about the hunter, while Hiei had somehow gotten ahold of his katana (_How had he gotten it back? Genkai had been holding it the entire time..._). Yusuke, along with Kazuma, had been training. Kurama had gotten some of his Makai plants around the grounds, which would either send out an alarm should anything it didn't recognize come near it, or simply destroy the intruder. Yukina didn't much like the last one. Hiei had been searching all day with his Jagon, to make sure the hunter wasn't still around. She had fretted over him at first, but with multiple assurances that he was fine, had left him alone. She still checked on him every hour or so, though. She and Keiko had helped Genkai set up more wards. Well, as much as they could, anyway; mainly, they just got whatever supplies they Genkai needed, and ran errands. Botan had gone to Reikai to get more information on the hunter. Shizuru, however, had flitted from area to area, helping out when needed, making food, and running asked and unasked for errands. She had, however, ignored Kazuma completely, still put out over the grits incident; she had even bonked him on the head a few times.

She yawned. She was just so _tired_. All the excitement of the last two days had caught up with her. _I'll just close my eyes, just…for…a minute…_

A knock on the door, and Shizuru poked her head in. "Yukina, Genkai wants to…" She saw the koorime, looking like she had just collapsed on her bed and stayed there. She walked quietly over to her, and righted her into bed (seeing as how she looked about to fall off), and then left the room, not wishing to wake her.

Shizuru walked into the living room, where everyone else of the little posse was. Yusuke was on one half of the couch, leaning on the arm rest, eyes drooping; Kuwabara was on the other half, legs hanging off the end, snoring; Keiko between the two. Genkai was in a cushiony chair that dwarfed her small frame, and Kurama was in another chair, both of them looking worse for wear. "She's asleep." She said in her usual, non-chalent tone.

Everyone that could still comprehend their surroundings, nodded. Kurama looked around, noting the exhaustion. "Who will be keeping first watch tonight? We can't afford to be caught off guard."

"Hn. Leave that to me, fox."

Kurama looked to the window sill. He hadn't even noticed the fire youkai. He nodded. "Fine, but remember to wake someone else before you pass out, alright?" he said, a yawn puncturing the statement.

Hiei looked affronted, with a 'what-do-you-think-I-am-a-moron?'

Genkai nodded. "Everyone, off to bed. We've got a long day, tomorrow." she ordered, hauling herself out of the chair and towards her room. After seeing Keiko's frowning face turned towards the boys on the couch, she said, "Just leave them, it won't hurt them to sleep there." Yusuke had fallen asleep sometime during the short conversation. Everyone except Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke, went to their respective rooms.

Hiei took his headband off, and opened his jagon. No one would be sneaking up on the temple tonight

* * *

AN: 

See? I told you it sucked. **I NEED A BETA READER!!!!!!!** And ideas, but thats in a different ball game.

REVEIW PLEASE!!! I shall give you skittles!!


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